In Santa Fe
by katyfaise
Summary: AU. What would happen if the events of RENT hadn't happened. Stories of all the main characters.
1. Collins

**A/N- I'm baaaack! My vacation was wonderful. And I wrote this toward the end. I thought it was a very good alternate universe idea, since I haven't done one of those yet. Because there was no internet up in the mountains, I wrote and wrote and wrote. I've got all of them done except for Angel, Benny, and Joanne. I've got Joanne figured out but Angel and Benny is sort of getting to me. This is where you come in. I need your help for ideas.  
Anyway, this idea is basically what would happen to the eight main characters, had RENT not happened. Just, in my mind. Hope you enjoy!**

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"Order up!" Collins said loudly, ringing a bell from behind a counter. He smiled at the waitress as she took the plate away toward a table full of rowdy teenagers. Collins didn't mind them though. They made each day worth it. He pulled his apron off and sat it down on a chair.

"Adelle, I'm heading home. Close up for me will you?"

"Sure thing, boss."

Collins smiled and walked out the back way, out into the balmy weather of Santa Fe. He looked up at the setting sun and wiped a bit of sweat away from his brow. Santa Fe was wonderful. His restaurant was doing great. Even on the slow months he managed.

And to think, he'd wanted to go to New York and get a job there.

He was happy he'd given up teaching a few years after college. Going to Santa Fe was the best decision he'd ever made. After a couple of days, he realized it was going to be his new home. It only took a few months for him to open up a restaurant, with a helpful loan from his mother.

Collins had a few friends. Mostly the people he worked with, like Adelle. She was an older woman, who had a few kids and went from boyfriend to boyfriend. Since she always managed to run the restaurant whenever he wasn't around, Collins never felt guilty slipping her extra in her paycheck.

Then there was Bernie. He delivered the ice every Monday. Collins would always give him a free plate of food, and the relationship grew from there. Every Monday they would sit out back with coffee and talk about what was happening in town.

When he reached the small apartment he was staying in, he smiled and unlocked the door. As soon as he was inside, he grabbed a book and sat down on the couch. He was happy, healthy, and definitely not lonely.

He laughed as he thought of how easily he could've given it all up.


	2. Maureen

**A/N- Poor Mo. Makes me sad. Let's see.. later on tonight, or either sometime tomorrow, I'm going to update with Mark's. Then it'll be Roger then Mimi's. That's the order so far. Then will be Angel, Joanne and Benny. When I get around to finishing them. I still need ideas for Benny's and Angel's though, since I'm stumped..  
Hope you like it!**

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"Come on honey, you're going to be late for school," Maureen said, smiling as she rubbed the head of a little brunette boy who was currently asleep beside his cereal.

"Mom, he's not going to wake up. He's going to stay like this forever.."

"Be quiet, Jamie. No go on, get your things. You're going to miss the bus."

Maureen watched as her daughter, now starting her first day of fifth grade, rolled her eyes and walked out of the kitchen.

"Brian! Wake up!" Maureen said loudly, causing the younger boy's head to pop up.

"Oh.. morning," he said, yawning.

"Go on, get your bag. The bus is almost here."

The boy yawned again and slid off of his chair. When he was out of the kitchen, Maureen smiled lightly and picked up the bowl. After she left it in the sink, she turned and sat down at the table, beginning to enjoy her own breakfast.

When the phone rang, she looked toward it but decided to ignore it. That's what an answering machine was for.

"This is the home of the Holland's. We're not here at the moment, so please, leave a message and we'll get back to you as soon as possible. May God bless." Beep.

"Hey Maureen, I know I promised you that I'd be back from the trip tonight but I just don't think I'll be able to. Mr. Sanders wanted me to stay up here in Seattle for another couple of days. When you get this, just call me back. Love you."

Maureen stared down into her cup of coffee, telling herself that it wasn't okay to cry. She couldn't cry. She couldn't allow herself to feel any emotion about the situation.

She'd figured out that he was having an affair after the woman called a few times and she'd answered the phone herself. Maureen couldn't blame him though. He was successful, handsome, had everything a woman wanted.

Maureen figured he didn't throw up the fact that he had a wife and two kids back home in Houston though.

Maureen took a deep breath and wiped her eyes, trying not to mess up her makeup. She had to compose herself.

After another quick sip of coffee, she leaned up and grabbed a folder off of the table. She couldn't worry about her husband, not when she had to plan the next PTA meeting.


	3. Mark

**A/N- I couldn't resist doing Mark this way. I'm just so.. mean. Honestly, my best friend read this and said she was ashamed of me. Hehe. Anyway, hope you enjoy. **

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Mark looked at his watch and then at the woman laying in the bed beside him. They'd only been married for three hours. He couldn't believe it. He ran his fingers along her leg and smiled when she moved a bit.

"Hey.." he said, laughing.

"What time is it?"

"A little after nine." Mark kissed her on the back of her neck, the smile still on his face.

After a bit, she stood up from the bed and grabbed her robe. Once she pulled it on, she walked out on the balcony.

Mark frowned and shook his head. She hadn't been acting right at all. But he figured it was just wedding day jitters. With a shrug, he rolled over and got comfortable again so he could go back to sleep.

* * *

"You cheated on me!" Mark yelled, looking over at the brunette across from him.

"Please, control your client. We don't need this hostility.." the other man said, pushing his glasses up on his nose. He was one of those expensive lawyers, the ones that had penthouse offices.

Mark rolled his eyes and leaned back. "Did she fuck you too so you'd represent her?"

Only three months went by before she'd come to him wanting a divorce. She said she found someone else. He was important to her. And now she wanted the house that his father had helped buy them before their wedding.

"You're a bitch.. you know that?" Mark questioned, shaking his head.

"What are you going to do with a house? We want to start a family.. We need it," she said quietly, her eyes glaring at him.

Mark shook his head and stood up. "Give her the goddamned house. I'm done.." he said, turning as he walked out of the room.

He couldn't believe he'd chosen to stay in Scarsdale with her, just because he believed in love. Stupid, stupid.

Now he didn't have anywhere else to go beside his parent's place.


	4. Roger

**A/N- Here's Roger. I hope you enjoy. **

**Disclaimer- AHHH.. I haven't done one of these yet. Bad me. RENT doesn't belong to me.**

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"April, hurry up!" Roger yelled, absently looking down at his arm. He hadn't had a hit in a couple of hours and he wasn't enjoying the way his skin was now crawling.

"I'm coming.. Damnit.." April muttered from the bathroom.

After a few more minutes, April walked out and stared at him. "What are you wearing?"

"Clothes.." Roger muttered, looking down at his outfit. It was usually the type of thing he wore out. And since April hadn't done laundry yet, he was running low.

"You're wearing leather pants to go meet my parents?" she asked, placing her hands on her hips.

Roger groaned and stood up. "Fine.. I'll go change. I don't think I've got anything else though.. I could go naked."

April rolled her eyes before she walked toward the kitchen. "Just don't take forever."

Once Roger was in the bedroom, he closed the door behind him and opened the window, letting the sun shine inside the dark room. He looked out for a minute, laughing when he saw a group of prostitutes down on the street. This was prime real estate, he was sure. Los Angeles had to be the worst place in the world.

He walked over to the dresser and pulled the drawer out. After he searched through the piles of socks and underwear that crowded it, he found what he was looking for. His last stash.

Roger had been hiding it from April, just so he'd be able to have a little fun on his own, without sharing.

It didn't take him long to get his high. And once he felt better than before, he walked out of the room.

When April saw him in jeans, she smiled and nodded. "Nice. Looks a lot better."

Roger looked down, since he didn't even remember changing. He looked back up to April and nodded. "Yeah.."

After a minute, he walked toward the door and pulled it open. He walked out of the apartment and down the stairs as quick as he possibly could. Once he was out on the street, he looked up at the sun and sighed.

He was sure that April's parents were going to hate him. Parents usually didn't like him. Besides, they wouldn't enjoy him scratching at his crawling skin for the whole night.


	5. Mimi

**A/N- I hope you enjoy Mimi's. I'm updating before I head off to the wonderful place I call.. schoooool. Ahh.. I wish spring break didn't have to end.**

**Disclaimer- I KEEP FORGETTING THIS THING!! Anyway, I don't own. I just.. rent. Cue the bad joke drums.**

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Mimi sat down on the hardwood floor and stretched out her legs. It had been a long session. Teaching ballet and tap to five and six year-olds wasn't the easiest thing in the world. But it paid the bills. And she did manage to have a bit of fun. She stood up and slipped her tennis shoes on then grabbed her bag. After she made sure all the lights were off in the studio, she walked out and headed down the street.

She'd learned not to listen to the sirens that mixed in with the random cat calls. That was the sound of the Bronx. She was used to it by now.

Mimi pulled her leotard up and continued down the sidewalk, heading home.

She sighed and looked toward the filthy ground. Mimi hated living here. It wasn't healthy. She knew people who were for the Bronx through and through. She wasn't one of them. She would rather live in Manhattan. Somewhere cosmopolitan. Somewhere that suited her.

Once she reached her building, she walked in quickly, just to make sure she hadn't let anyone else in. After a break in a few months before, she was more careful. She climbed the three flights of stairs and stopped at a door. Mimi knocked lightly before opening it and letting herself in.

"Ms. Collins.. I'm here for Bri," she said, smiling when the older woman walked out from the kitchen.

"I just finished some mac and cheese for her. Want some?" the woman asked, smiling at Mimi.

Mimi couldn't help but smile. She could never turn down Ms. Collins's meals. Not when she didn't have anything to eat in her own apartment. "Sure."

She walked toward the kitchen and reached her arms out for the three year old. "Hey baby," she said, lifting her off of the table.

"Mama! Look!" she screamed loudly as she pointed toward a coloring book in the living room. It was just a flower with colors scribbled all through it.

"It's beautiful," Mimi said, kissing her on the cheek. "Come on, let's eat," she said, sitting her back down.

Mimi belonged in Manhattan. She was sure she'd be there if it wasn't for Bri. But she wouldn't trade her for anything, not even the cosmopolitan lifestyle.


	6. Benny

**A/N- As for Joanne and Angel's.. Well, I have yet to do them. I still don't have an idea for Angel so I guess she'll be the last chapter. Anyway, enjoy our lovely landlord's... alternate life.**

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Benny looked through his wallet and sighed.

"A whole seven bucks.." he muttered.

That was enough to get a burger and drink on. He wasn't sure how he'd survive another day though. He really needed to get a job.

Benny pulled his jacket tighter around him and walked down the street a bit. The 'Windy City' was definitely not his friend anymore, not like it had been after college.

He continued to walk a bit before shivering. Benny raised an eyebrow. His jacket was supposed to be keeping him warm, not making him stay cold. After a minute, he pulled the jacket off and sighed. "Shit.." he muttered, staring at the hole in the side.

Great. Another thing that had went wrong.

He held the jacket over his arm and shivered as he began to walk down the street. When he saw a coffee shop, he ducked inside, happy to have the warmth.

Benny ordered himself a cheap cup of coffee and walked over to table. There was no way he was going back out until he had warmed himself up a little more.

Once he finished his cup, he stood up and sighed. He walked over to the girl behind the counter and smiled weakly. "Hey.. can I have an application?" he asked quietly.

He really needed to get a job.


	7. Joanne

**A/N- So I have to say, I saw RENT last night. And.. it was great. Jenn Talton was wonderful. She's always been my favorite Mimi. I've never cried during Goodbye Love but just watching her and Heinz made me tear up. It killed me. I didn't get to see Jed, since he had an understudy and it was Dustin Brayley. He was good though, very. Kristen Griffith was good as Angel, but to me, he sort of overacted and ruined Today 4 U. But he was entertaining. Heinz overacted during One Song Glory, but he sang really well through everything. La Vie Boheme was GREAT! The company was great as a whole. Will I gave me chill bumps and I swear Onyie and Christine did the best Take Me Or Leave Me I've ever heard. It's second to Idina and Freddie's. Yeah, that's the short version. I could go on FOREVER!! about last night but I won't.. OHH! Haha, Dustin lost his glasses during Goodbye Love 'cause Jenn hit him in the face. It was sooo funny.**

**Anyway, this is Joanne's AU. Hope you liiiike.**

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Joanne walked out of the courtroom, a frown on her face. She felt terrible. Here she was, a sleazy divorce lawyer, fighting to win men or women their alimony from their spouses. Alimony that was at least five times more than what she made for each of these cases. She had went to college intending to be a civil rights attorney. She wanted to leave college and make something out of her life. One day she wanted to be remembered for defending poverty stricken single moms or something. That just wasn't happening.

She sighed and left the courthouse, trying to forget that she'd just helped a woman win a case when she'd blatantly cheated on her husband. Joanne was just happy that she was a good lawyer, and she was good enough to make everyone else believe that the plastic surgery victim she was working with was innocent.

Joanne caught a taxi and sat quietly as she was drove home. She was trying to push all the thoughts away from her mind, and it was working.

Once she was home, she smiled and climbed the stairs to her apartment. As soon as she walked inside, her smile grew even larger.

"Hey honey."

Joanne looked up and smiled at her girlfriend. "You made dinner?"

"Of course. You said you had to work."

She smiled again and moved toward the other woman, wrapping her arms around her in a tight hug.

"How was your day at work?"

Joanne shrugged and walked into the kitchen so she could put her things down. "It was okay.."


	8. Angel

**A/N- Go me. Go me. I finished it! Finally. Anyway, this is Angel's alternate. Hope you all enjoy.  
Also.. I went to see the Sex and The City movie tonight. The girls were in a bathroom and this woman was talking and because I knew that voice, I looked up. None other than Daphne Rubin-Vega was on the screen talking to my four favorite sexy women. I screamed. Didn't matter though, cause I was at the drive-through. She's credited as the 'Baby Voiced Woman'. Damn.. they should've named her.. Mimi! **

**Disclaimer- I don't own. Sadly. I only... RENT!**

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"I can't do this.."

Angel looked down at his hands, shaking his head. "I can't."

The driver of the car looked in the rear view mirror at the man in the back seat. "You could always call her. Maybe it would all work out."

He looked up, nodding his head. The driver handed Angel the cellphone, a smile on his face. "It'll be okay. She'll understand."

Angel looked down at his suit. The nice tie, the nice shoes.. Everything that his fiance had bought for him. He wasn't sure if he could handle all the stress.

With a shaking hand, he opened up the phone and quickly dialed his fiance's number.

"Where the hell are you? You're twenty five minutes late.."

Her voice made Angel freeze. Did he want to give everything up? He obviously didn't love this woman. They'd met at a party of a mutual friend and had began dating. Soon after, Angel had decided he didn't want to be with her. But when she began to buy him new things, and had started talking about marriage, he found it hard to back out. Marriage? They'd barely went beyond a few casual pecks on the cheek and holding hands while they walked.

Angel sighed, a frown forming on his features.

"I.. I'm sitting outside the church."

"Well come inside! Everybody's waiting. My mother's about to blow up."

"I can't do this.." Angel muttered, although he could barely hear his own voice.

"What did you just say?" Her teeth were obviously grinding now. It made Angel cringe.

"I can't do this." This time his voice was more firm, even though he was still shaking.

"What are you talking about? I.. I'm standing outside of the doors waiting for you. Angel, we're supposed to be getting married. This is supposed to be the happiest day of my life, dammit!"

Angel pulled the phone away from his ear and stared at it. After a moment, he just shook his head.

"I'm sorry."

When he hung the phone up, he sat it beside him.

"What are you going to do now?" the other man asked, glancing back at Angel.

"Go home."


End file.
